Ohio State Football 2011: Why Defense Is a Bigger Issue Than the Suspended Five

After a dramatic, heart-stopping win over a talented Arkansas team in the Sugar Bowl, Ohio State now faces challenges in trying to recover from missing the Suspended Five, including Terrelle Pryor and DeVier Posey.

But the real question mark for this team is not the offense, but the defense, where OSU has to replace seven starters.

And this year is different because the Buckeyes have to find some way to replace superstars Cameron Heyward, Ross Homan and Chimdi Chekwa.

Those three players, especially Heyward, have been major players on this defense for the past several seasons, which has made Jim Tressel's life much easier.

Now he has to find some way to replace those three stud players, while at the same time trying to decide who to plug in on offense for the first five games.

But considering the depth at RB, with Jordan Hall and Jaamal Berry getting plenty of action last season and redshirt freshman Rod Smith reportedly making a huge impression in bowl practices, the offense will be fine if they decide to just be a running team until Pryor comes back.

Ohio State does have capable players on the defensive side of the ball to replace five starters in the back seven, including S Tyler Moeller and C.J. Barnett, who both missed most of 2010 due to injuries.

DB Travis Howard came up huge in the second half of the season and should be starting at CB, despite suffering a minor injury in the Sugar Bowl.

And from what Ohio State showed in the Sugar Bowl, despite being out both Chekwa and Howard, the fact that they somehow stopped Arkansas' offense when it mattered has to raise some optimism amongst fans.

Don't forget as well that 5-star DB Doran Grant will also try to push for the second starting job, along with Florida State transfer Dionte Allen.

At LB, expect any combination of Etienne Sabino, Dorian Bell and Storm Klein to fill in the other two starting slots as Andrew Sweat looks to slide into Homan's space.

But the real question mark is on the defensive line.

Though the line did not really show up much except for the Sugar Bowl, losing Cameron Heyward is huge, as well as the senior leadership of DT Dexter Larimore.

While DE Nathan Williams and DT John Simon are back and will be the face of the line for the time being, it still remains to be seen how offensive lines will play them now that Heyward is gone.

The Buckeyes do have a few DTs capable of filling the second opening on the depth chart with Garrett Goebel playing well in New Orleans and big Johnny Hankins showing tremendous potential with extensive playing time as a true freshman in 2010.

However, filling Heyward's spot on the edge is the real concern.

Right now, they have Solomon Thomas with experience, yet he is the only defensive member of the Suspended Five.

Keith Wells looks to return after a year in JUCO and OSU has two blue-chip DEs arriving in Kenny Hayes and Steve Miller.

Odds are pretty low that either of the freshmen will start, but they certainly do have the ability and the openness in the depth chart to get their feet wet early on in their Buckeye careers.

Spring practices will tell us more about what to expect on the defensive side of the ball, as well as who the starting QB could be come September, but that's a different story in itself.

For now, Ohio State has to find out who will be starting on their defense, with seven of their 14 vacated starting jobs being on that side of the ball.

Let the speculation commence!

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